Seeing the Light
by AkaMizu-chan
Summary: Yanoyaka Kim is an asian girl born and raised in the USA. After a tragedy, her father moves her and her brother over to his homeland, Japan. When Kim meets everyone, will she be able to over come her disability and help fight for the future of Vongola?
1. Chapter 1

Being blind had never been an inconvience exactly. I had lost my sight at age three when I had to have a surgery to remove cancer from my brain that other wise would've killed me or rendered me a vegetable for life. Even at the age of three I understood this, and as my parents said, "was a little trooper" about it. Because of this experience, my motto was to live life to the fullest. At first, it wasn't easy. I had to walk slowly, barely moving, memorizing where each little detail of furniture was. My older brother, David, always helped me out, even though he was 6 years older and could be hanging with his friends instead. The next step was to be able to listen for people when they got close, or hear a car coming by so I wouldn't get hit.

At first, I gave up a lot. I would get easily frustrated and stumble up the stairs to my room, then I would begin to cry when I could barely find the door knob, and sob on my bed once the door was shut and I had managed to knock everything over on my way to it. After about five minutes, my parents would come and try to console me, but I never let them in. After half an hour, David worked his magic to unlock the door and get in. He always consoled me the best. David was my life line for the first two years after being blind. He was my eyes for me.

Then the days came when I started to learn on my own. Yes, David helped me out a lot, but I got the hang of it on my own. By my 6th birthday, at the beginning of kindergarten, I had quite a bit of friends. That was my first birthday party with my friends at it, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Being blind was no longer a handicap for me. All my teachers expected me to be dumber, I guess, because of my 'handicap'. It turns out, I was one of the smartest students in the class, listening really close and tape recording the lessons. What amazed them more was the fact that I was bilingual, my second language was Japanese, my father's first language, from his home country. I wasn't required to take gym, but I did my best, even if I fell over during running. Or if I was the first person to get out of dodge ball. It was always worth it when I could say I completed a trip-free lap, or got one person out before being hit by the ball. I couldn't play basket ball or many other sports, but I tried my hardest on the ones that I could do. It was enough to make my parents proud.

Those were the good days when being blind wasn't so hard. Then my mother suddenly died when I was 13 the summer before I started 8th grade and only 3 months before my 14th birthday. The cause was a heart attack. Her side of the family had a history with early heart problems. We were all devistated. I won't go into the messy details, but my brother and I came closer to my dad than ever. We needed him--I needed him a lot more than you can imagine. About two weeks before school started, my dad told us we were going to be moving. In a week we'd be flying out of our cosy home in Denver, Colorado. We'd be heading west over California, out over the ocean and into a country my brother and I had never set foot in, my fathers homeland of Japan. Apparently his grandparents, deceased for about three years, had a big house that they had left him in his will. It was fully paid off and we could all live there. It was located on the outskirts of Namimori, where he had once gone to school. My dad even said one of his old friends might still live there, and a few days later found out that he had a son about my age. He promised I'd be fine at school once the teachers understood I needed to adjust, and he was happier than we'd seen him since my mother's death, so we couldn't say no. This was a life changing decision that would ultimately change my brothers future, and mine, for what my father thought was the better. He couldn't have been more right, and more wrong.

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A/N: Yes, kind of cheesy, but it gets better I swear. I already have the next few chapters planned out and written on paper, I just need to type them up. I wanted to write more for the prolouge, but I figured if I went into what I wanted it would be over dramaticised and highly uninteresting. And I didn't want to have some huge prolouge to over complicate things. The only two aspect's important in Kim's background is her mothers death and her being blind.

Reviews are highly appreciated!

-AM-C


	2. There Once was a Blind Girl

The school yard was packed with students who didn't want to enter the school quite yet. It was the first day back for the children attending Namimori Middle School, and friends were waving and hugging and screaming their excitement at seeing friends who they hadn't seen for awhile. The hallways where no better than the school yard. There was barely enough room for Kim to squeeze in between the students in her futile attempt to find the office herself. Kim felt herself start to panic, thinking she had lost her sense of direction in the mass of students. She felt dizzy and eventually found a wall to lean on. A sigh escaped her; she felt a headache forming from the loud noise and the enclosure. She wasn't claustrophobic, but the feeling of being lost frightened Kim as she knew her chances of finding someone helpful were slim and none. That's when Kim heard a door open very close to her. She inched over to it and opened it. It was cool and quiet in this room, and she stepped into it.

"Ah, hello!" A perky voice said a little to the right and front of Kim, it took her a second to remember that she was in Japan and people would be talking to her in Japanese.

"Hello… I'm looking for the office? I'm Yanoyaka Kim, and I think I'm lost…" She trailed off a little and fidgeted.

"Nope, you're in the right place Yanoyaka-san. You'll be in class A-3. Unlike in American culture, or what I've heard from it, you stay in the class room all day and the teachers come to you. The only time you would want to move is at lunch, but you're free to eat in the room. Do you need me to escort you, Yanoyaka-san, or can you find it…?" The secretary was very nice and poliet. Kim smiled.

"If you could show me, I would be very grateful. After the first time I should be able to make it there myself." Kim replied.

"Very well then." As the secretary moved past Kim, she patted her on the head, "Don't worry Yanoyaka-san. You'll do fine here, it's not a very big school. If you ever have… trouble finding somewhere, ask a teacher and I'm sure they'll help you out. Do you have a dog or anything you need to use for your… condition?" She asked polietly.

Kim smiles again, "For my blindness? No, my father can't afford to keep a dog around to help me see. I feel as though I do fine by myself anyways. I'll probably need one someday in the future if I want to go walking in the city. Can't always trust my ears."

As they walked Kim carefully counted her footsteps and ran a hand along the wall for feel. At the age of about 9, Kim had figured out if she did this she got a general sense for where she was and how to get there, not ever needing to count out the steps after the first time. Her brother said it was a kind of sixth sense, in the way that she could feel people coming close to her or the way she could feel when objects became too close. David often told her how lucky she was to be able to memorize her surrounding quickly to which she always told him it was something you had to learn to do if you're blind.

"Here we are. Yanoyaka-san. Good luck." The secretary patted her head once more and walked away. Kim took a deep breath and opened the door. She could hear it was noisy and at once grew quiet at seeing this new student walking in. Everyone was curious.

"Ahh, class, here is our new student from America. Her name is Yanoyaka Kim."

Kim gave a small bow to the class, "Please treat me kindly!" She stood up from the bow and smiled. The class was about the size of the American ones, about 20 or so students from the energies she could feel. Although three of the energies in the room were very pecuiler… it was something she had never felt before from anyone.

"You can go sit behind Kurowa-san, Yanoyaka-san." The teacher said, pointing to a girl with black hair who was sitting in the 3rd row from the windows, 2nd seat back. Hana smiled at the girl at first, but as the girl stood there for a second the smile faded.

"S-sensei?" Kim asked a little nervous.

"Yes, Yanoyaka-san?"

"Um…I was hoping the office mentioned it but…" Kim fidgeted, nervous, when the teacher stepped in, turning red.

"Oh, of course. Yes, they mentioned it. Kurowa-san, could you help Yanoyaka-san get to her seat?" The teacher said and Hana stood up walking to the front.

"I'm blind." Kim said to Hana, explaining why she needed help. The whole class heard and small chatter broke out almost at once. Kim turned a little red at being the center of attention so suddenly and just because of her eye sight. Hana smiled again.

"Ignore them, Yanoyaka-san. They're like hounds." Hana told the girl which made Kim smile up at her.

"Thank you, Kurowa-san." Hana lead Kim to her seat and sat in her own as Kim sat down behind her. The teacher had the class quiet down and started class off with lessons on Japanese. Kim had her small voice recorder out and listened to what the teacher said and even managed to answer some questions. She also missed a few questions as she couldn't see the strokes of the characters and mixed a few of them out. Some people in the class laughed, quickly hushed by the teacher.

The first part of the day went rather much like this. Kim seemed to be better at math than most students, besides a kid she learned to be named Gokudera, who was apparently a genius, but she wasn't so good at grammar. A lot of the time Kim sat there listening, biting her lip, very nervous come lunch time. She didn't want to sit by herself, but she clearly didn't have any friends yet. She considered asking Hana but she didn't want to impose or seem rude.

As the bell sounded to let the students leave the room for lunch, Kim sat in her seat and felt every single student leave the classroom. She smiled to herself a little and took out the lunch her brother packed her. He was very good at Japanese dishes, as their father had been teaching him how to make it perfect from a younger age. She had a few pieces of sushi, but the main part of the meal was fried fish with stir fry over a bed of rice. Kim had two sweet buns for dessert. As she sat there eating, thinking about the day so far, she heard the door open and felt someone walk in.

"Eh?! Have you seen Kyoko-chan, hahi?!" The voice, a girls voice, asked Kim once the person had taken a look around the room. Kim quickly swallowed the food in her mouth.

"Not since she left… Sorry." Her voice was timid and shy. She shifted in her seat a little bit, taking another small bite of food.

"Ah! Thank you!" The girl almost left before she poked her head back in the doorway, "Are you knew here, hahi?!" She asked Kim

Kim nodded, "Yes… my name is Yanoyaka Kim." The blind girl replied.

"It's very nice to meet you, Kim-chan! I'm Haru, hahi! Why are you sitting all alone, hahi? Kyoko-chan is surely willing to have you eat with her and Hana-chan, hahi!" Haru said to Kim, excited at the possibility of meeting another new friend.

"Ah, it's okay. I don't want to impose or anything, so…" Kim trailed off, dropping her head so it appears she's looking at her bento.

"It's not an intrusion, Kim-chan! Let's go find Kyoko-chan, hahi!" Haru put her hands up in the air and then stood by the door, waiting for Kim-chan to get her lunch and follow.

Kim turned a little red and started to pack her bento away, managing to fit it all together before closing the clasp. She stood up and carefully made her way down the aisle with the bento, making sure she wouldn't trip or anything. Kim stood in front of Haru, smiling polietly while fidgeting nervously. Another arm looped through hers, and Haru gave a small tug.

"This way, hahi!" Haru started to tug Kim in a direction.

"Ah, haru-san—"

"Haru or Haru-chan is fine, Kim-chan! You're friends with Haru now!" Haru smiled over at Kim and continued to pull her along.

"Ah, well Haru-chan, can you slow down please? I'm… blind." Kim said rather bluntly, figuring it was better to not try to beat around the bush.

Haru stopped abruptyl, "Hahi?! Haru-chan is sorry, Kim-chan! Kim-chan should've told Haru this earlier, desu! What do you need, hahi?"

Kim smiled, "I just need you to go a little bit slower, Haru-chan. I'll be fine."

Haru nodded and linked arms once again with the girl and they headed off. They checked around the spots that Haru called Kyoko's 'usual' spots. Along the way they talked, Haru mainly asked the questions which Kim answered with a smile. A lot of the questions were about America and how Kim was doing here in Japan. Kim decided to tell Haru she was a little afraid at first, not knowing anyone. They talked as Haru decided to lead Kim to the roof the last plausible spot for Kyoko to be, apparently.

"If they're anywhere, Kyoko-chan would be up here with the guys, hahi!" Haru said as they started up the stairs.

"Who?" Kim asked, careful to not trip on the many stairs.

"My future husband Tsuna-kun! And Yamamoto-kun and Gokudera-kun, hahi! They should be in your class, Kim-chan!" Haru said. Kim could almost feel the affection for Tsuna rolling off the girl.

Kim nodded, remembering the guys vaguely from class. They were the three with the odd auras. Tsuna was kind of dumn, but sweet, and couldn't seem to say no or be mean. Yamamoto, she pieced together, loved baseball, didn't understand math, and was clueless. Then there was Gokudera, who was pretty much a genius, and called Tsuna "Jyuudaime" all the time, and seemed to be infatuated with him. She didn't think it was love in that sense, but he was very protective. Before Kim knew it, Haru was announcing they were at the top and opened the door to the warmth of outside once more. Since Kim was slightly shorter than Haru, she was blocked from seeing at first and kept it that way, nervous and shy.

"Ah, Haru-chan!" Kim heard, who she thought was Kyoko, say.

"Haiyeeee!! What are you doing here Har?!" Tsuna's voice made it's way to Kim's ears, sounding confused and slightly worried.

"Haru-chan wanted to come find her future husband, hahi!" Haru replied cheerfully, starting to walk forward and Kim followed closely. Despite this, they all saw her eventually, and so she shyly stepped to the side and came into full view. She felt five pairs of eyes on her and her cheeks grew warm, and immediately Kim knew she was turning red.

"Ahahaha! You're Kim, right?" She heard the baseball guy, Yamamoto say enthusiastically.

"Ah.. yes. Y-you're name is… Yamamoto-san, right?" Kim asked, hoping she was right with his name.

"Yamamoto is fine, Kim-chan! We're all friends here." Yamamoto laughed again, earing glares from Gokudera.

"Tch, baseball idiot, stop being so friendly. We're not all friends here." Gokudera glared at the boy he was talking to, "It's down right annoying and Jyuudaime can't study with you yapping all the time! And you wonder why your grades are so bad."

Kim figeted, she was just a little nervous. While Yamamoto was very nice, the other guy, Gokudera by default, was mean. She felt a little out of place, like she should be back in the classroom, eating by herself.

"Kim-chan, come sit over here, hahi!" Haru called.

She walked over to Haru, careful of her feet. Kim realized everyone was watching her as she was walking very well and confidently, despite being blind. Her face turned really red as she stood next to where Haru sat before carefully sitting next to her, placing her bento the side.

"So, Kim-san, from the way you speak Japanese, you're not originally from the country. Where are you from?" Hana asked the girl.

"Colordo—it's a state in America…and Kim is fine, Hana—if I may call you that." Kim replied, taking a small bite from her bento, as Hana smiled and said she could.

"What's it like?" Kyoko asked.

Kim smiled, finishing another small bite of food, "It was very nice. During the summer it grows very warm, and I'd often swim in the lake by my house with my brother. He's almost always with me when I do stuff like that so I don't get hurt. In the winter it gets cold, especially in the mountains, and snow falls everywhere. I always played in the snow as well—I hope it snows here."

The lunch period went on like that. Kim told the three other girls about her home and family. She told them about her friends and the customs of American schools. The girls often said something was really neat or made some cute comment. She spoke about why she was in Japan and her mom's death, not really as sad anymore, knowing you can't dwell forever. No one realized that occasionally the guys would listen in, their curiosity peaked.

By the end of the period, Kyoko had cheerfully invited Kim to her house after school for a girls night. Kim was really excited, and told Kyoko she would have to go home and talk it over with her dad first, but she would definitely see if she could. The bell soon rang and Haru jumped off, saying she had to run back to her own school and that she would see everyone later.

"Haru-chan doesn't go to Namimori..?" Kim asked as she headed back with Kyoko and Hana.

"Nope! Haru-chan goes to a private all girls school. She's really smart!" Kyoko smiled and headed to her own desk as they reached the class room. The day was relatively normal besides random outbursts from Gokudera when the teacher tried to pick on Tsuna.

The day ended quickly, and Kim quickly got Kyoko's phone number and said she would call if she couldn't make it to the hang out that night. With that the girl walked outside and she felt an all-familiar presence, her brother. He guided her to the car and helped her in before getting into the drivers side. David glanced over at Kim as they took off.

"How was school, Kim-Kim?" David asked her, smiling.

"Good! I met three very nice girls. The one, Kyoko-chan, invited me to her house today for a girls night! I'm so excited, do you think Dad'll let me go?" Kim asked, excited and nervous all at once.

"Ask him when we get there, Kim-Kim, he might say yes." David quickly patted her head before continuing the drive.

Kim smiled, unable to wait till she could ask her Dad.

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Thank you all for the reviews/watches! I know I told some of you I would update Monday, but with 4th of July, and a minor emergency at home, I wasn't able to write much until wednesday, and so I figured I'd upload Friday with a semi-long chapter. The next one will be about the same or longer. I'm thinking of how the story will end and I'm pretty sure I know. So now I know where I'm going, just a question of how to get there.

Reviews/watches/faves are very much appreciated, along with constructive criticism. I apologize for the fail, this chapter is just to set up for the next one, which will include more mafia-ness, action, and hopefully less boring background stuff.

-AM.C


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